“Committed to ending modern-day slavery and sexual exploitation by raising awareness through the media and grassroots mobilization, education, advocacy and policy.”
WARNING: This newsletter may be disturbing because it’s true.
Dear Warrior:
Low hanging fruit. That’s what’s going on today in most discussion about our education system in the United States. Media headlines that grab attention. Website traffic. Clicks. Likes. All fighting for attention. The public is being distracted. Incessant talk about gender, pronouns, bathroom talk, race, book-banning, videos posted online of kids fighting, teachers’ unions. All politicized. All weaponized. Not that these issues are unimportant. They definitely are of the utmost importance. However, while all of this is going on, our kids are academically being ignored. Number one take action is to get politics out of the classroom. Education first. Reading, writing and arithmetic.
Our number one focus must be children and learning. The goal must be what are the kids achieving or lacking every day attending school. We need community education discussion. How can we better engage, educate and empower our kids? Whether in public, private, charter, homeschooling or learning pods. Academic growth in 2021/2022 was a struggle and even non-existent for many kids. The results are in. The past three years have been a wrecking ball for U.S. public education, bringing months of school closures, frantic moves to remote instruction and trauma and isolation.
Let’s Learn More
Warriors, the facts speak for themselves in 2023. Our youth are watching us. They see the derision, fighting and lack of empathy many adults are displaying towards each other and the kids themselves. How can we expect them to achieve academic success when they are surrounded by these other disruptions? Plus the pressures of social media impacting their daily lives.
“Empathy is a building block of morality—for people to follow the Golden Rule, it helps if they can put themselves in someone else’s shoes,” according to the Greater Good Science Center, a research institute that studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being. “It is also a key ingredient of successful relationships because it helps us understand the perspectives, needs, and intentions of others.”
These are but a few devastating facts, studies and challenges for your review about our youth and schools:
Two Decades of Progress, Nearly Gone: National Math, Reading Scores Hit Historic Lows Academic declines were sweeping, spanning low-income and wealthier students, boys and girls, and most racial or ethnic groups in both subjects and grades.
Role of Social Media Disruptions in Schools.Learn more about the impact of mobile phones on students’ life,why kids need to put their phones away during classes and make better use of their time while in school. We must start advocating for no phones in our children's schools. You can’t learn or interact when you are glued to your screens and/or wearing earpods.
Youth Mental Health.A new reportfinds an "overwhelming wave of violence and trauma" and never-before-seen levels of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts among high school students in the U.S. Overall, more than 40% of boys and girls said that they'd felt so sad or hopeless within the past year that they were unable to do their regular activities, such as schoolwork or sports, for at least two weeks. When researchers looked at gender differences, girls were more deeply affected.
Reality
Enough. Time to Parent Up. Caregiver Up. Family Up. I recently had the honor and opportunity to interview School Safety Officer Dave Gomez on our Lynn’s Warriors’s TNT Radio program. A must-listen. Officer Gomez is “boots on the ground.” I dare you to not feel broken-hearted after listening to what he has to say about kids and families today. Let’s reclaim our children. Let’s help each other reclaim our children. It’s not easy. But it must be done. The predators are winning. We are losing a generation of kids. Our future adults. Our future leaders. We must make the commitment to our children that we are there for them no matter what. What about the kids who have no family unit? No support. Runaways? Children who leave their environment because they are physically and/or sexually abused? We must be there for them also. We know that increases in the number of vulnerable kids can lead to more harm whether online or in real time. Sex and labor trafficking, too. We cannot allow this educational destruction of our kids to go on any longer. We can all do something. It’s time to #BecomeA Warrior.
2023. “There is a war on for our children. They are today’s currency. Online. The predators are winning. It’s time to reclaim our precious children. We must protect them with everything we’ve got. It’s time to #BeAWarrior.” – Lynn Shaw
Engage. Educate. Empower ourselves and our children.
So What Are We to Do? Community Creates Change
Take Action. Communicate with your kids. Learn more about issues affecting them. Ask questions and show interest in all they are doing. Spend time with them. We lead by example. They are watching us even if you think they aren’t. Approximately 85% of parents admit using devices as babysitters. Put down the phones. Ask the kids if they are all right. Think of them. Put yourself in their shoes with all going on in today’s overwhelming environment. Take an interest. #KidsFirst #ParentUp Always follow up-to-date studies and find valuable and much-needed resources at NCMEC. Share the information within your circles. Communicate with your children. Be honest and open and explain the need to come together and create a family digital partnership for household online safety. Get your family and friends involved in saying ENOUGH.#ProtectOurChildren
Take Action. Communicate with Your Schools. Take an interest in your children’s education and curriculum. Discuss with them what their day is like, what they are learning, what they feel they are missing at school, how you can help them feel better about all. Make learning a #FamilyPartnership Make it your mission to be an active participant in their school. Ask for their curriculum so you know what your child is being taught. Attend parent-teacher conferences, join parent groups and share knowledge, join your community school board. These are but a few ideas. Just get involved. Remember the kids that might not have anyone to guide them. Every school I know right now is collecting for students less fortunate. Extra snacks, socks, school supplies. We can all do something.
Take Action. Household Device Rules. It starts with less screen time. It’s a digital world. It’s not going away. We must start limiting time spent online, apps like TikTok, Snapchat and Instant Messaging. Remember, wherever the kids are so are the predators. Talk openly and honestly with your kids. There are bad people online. Discuss issues with your kids: Sextortion, cyberbullying, pornography, Internet addiction, easily buying drugs on platforms, slang emojis and more.
Take Action. Follow School Resource Officer Dave Gomez. He shares information you need to know about kids and schools today. Officer Gomez is a national leader, speaker and at the forefront of educating parents and kids about the many dangers of social media on electronic devices. Officer Gomez has been a school resource officer for many years and works in the schools with the age groups that are most affected by digital devices. Officer Gomez uses his collective information to come up with best practice tips for parents and their kids to stay safe in a new world of digital citizenship.
Please share this newsletter with family and friends.
There is help. There is hope.
Please always check on your loved ones and friends who might be in need of someone to talk to and care. Find more resources at 988 Lifeline.
Wherever the kids are . . . so are the predators.
Let’s start talking healthy not harmful in 2023.
If we help one child a day, then we have done our job.
BE A WARRIOR!
Gabb Wireless– Technology has countless benefits and allowing children to use safe technology in moderation can help them learn phone etiquette and media literacy skills. However, too much of anything can be harmful. By taking the steps to balance tech in their lives, kids have more time to be kids and learn healthy tech habits.
Sound the Alarm. February 27. The Phone in the Room Digital technology has caused the biggest changes to teenage life in many decades. Typical American teenagers spend about half of their waking hours on their smartphones. They are on the phones when they are alone at home and when they are hanging out with friends.
Washington DC.February 21. UPDATEGonzalez v. Google.Supreme Court seems cautious on Google case that could reshape Internet The case was promoted as one that could transform the Internet, and the Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed to take that to heart: The justices appeared wary of sudden change when interpreting a federal law that protects internet companies from lawsuits concerning the platforms’ posting of content from others. Take a listen to legal analyst LIONEL on Lynn’s Warriors WVOX Radio describe the case and argument for why this belongs up to Congress to repeal/update Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. STAY TUNED.
Justice.February 21.48 arrests, 8 children rescued in sex trafficking operation in San DiegoA month-long anti-human trafficking operation targeting suspected traffickers and prospective commercial sex customers resulted in 48 arrests in San Diego and National City, authorities announced. Operation Better Pathways, which was held between Jan. 9 and Feb. 10, involved law enforcement surveillance of "areas known for sexual exploitation in San Diego and National City." Specifically, San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said the operation zeroed in on Dalbergia and Roosevelt Streets.
In the News. February 25. HORRIFIC Where is our government to protect these children? Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S. Arriving in record numbers, they’re ending up in dangerous jobs that violate child labor laws — including in factories that make products for well-known brands like Cheetos and Fruit of the Loom.
Education. February 25. Homeschooling Saw 30% Boost During the Pandemic and Remains Steady. A recent study found that homeschooling saw a 30% increase in 2021-2022 while public school enrollment fell by more than 1.2 million students within the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings showed that private school enrollment increased by 4.3% between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2021. Homeschooling continued to see a boost even after many schools returned to in-person instruction.
Medical. February 23.Tennessee legislature passes ban on gender-transition health care for minorsIt overwhelmingly passed a ban on gender-transition health care for minors, which will require transgender children to end their current medical treatment by March 2024. The bill prohibits children from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures. People who received the treatments as minors would also be able to sue parents, guardians and physicians for authorizing the care under a statute of limitations under the legislation.
Tech Talk. February 22. DANGERTikTok’s latest trending filter makes you younger. Be careful. Talk to your kids. A predator could be hiding behind this. With the filter on, you’re able to get a split screen of your younger self on the top and your current self on the bottom for reference. The filter is called “Teenage Look,” was created by TikTok and currently has over 1 million videos attached to it. It provides smoother skin, removes facial hair and brightens up the face to give a youthful look.
Media Microscope. CNN. February 27. Meta cracks down on a growing crime against teenagers Meta is taking steps to crack down on the spread of “revenge porn” images of teenagers on Facebook and Instagram. A new tool, called Take It Down, takes aim at a practice where someone posts an explicit picture of an individual without their consent to publicly embarrass them. Revenge porn has skyrocketed in the last few years on social media, particularly among young boys, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.NOTE: We now prefer the term IBSA: image based sexual abuse, instead of “revenge porn.”
Warrior Reality. 2023. Kids and Vaping: A Youth Epidemic E-cigarettes are hooking a new generation on nicotine – putting millions of kids at risk and threatening decades of progress in reducing youth tobacco use. It’s a nationwide crisis of youth addiction, fueled by thousands of kid-friendly flavors and massive doses of nicotine.
According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), over 2.5 million U.S. kids used e-cigarettes in 2022. While youth e-cigarette use has declined since 2019, it remains a serious public health problem. From 2017 to 2019, e-cigarette use among high school students more than doubled to 27.5%, leading the U.S. Surgeon General and other public health authorities to declare the problem an “epidemic.”
Warrior Spotlight. February 20. "Human trafficking is a scourge on humanity, and unfortunately, a lot of it happens using hotels as an environment," Marriott International President and CEO Anthony Capuano told Yahoo Finance Live "So several years ago, we developed an intense training program for our associates." Initially introduced in 2016, the hotel chain's human trafficking awareness program trains employees on how to identify potential signs of human trafficking, monitor situations, and act or report on them while providing aid to victims. The program aims to have all on-property staff fulfill these training requirements by 2025 across the hotel chain's 8,200 locations in 138 countries worldwide.
Warrior Thanks. UN Resolution 77/194(Trafficking in Women and Girls), which was adopted by the General Assembly on December 15, 2022. Noteworthy is its unequivocal reference to the importance of demand reduction.
The UN resolution calls upon governments to:
…”intensify their efforts to prevent and address, with a view to eliminating, the demand that fosters the trafficking of women and girls for all forms of exploitation and in this regard to put in place or to enhance preventive measures, including legislative and punitive measures to deter exploiters of trafficked persons, as well as ensure their accountability.” Learn more from NCOSE and take action.
Warrior Workshop. March 22. Warrior Workshopfor parents, grandparents, caregivers and all concerned citizens will be presented at the Chatham, New Jersey Library! Much discussion about libraries and kids around the United States this past year. Count us in! We'll be talking digital safety for you and your kids. We’re ready. FREE. Immersive. Honest and open talk. Q&A. Join us. 7PM.
Mark Your Calendar. June 13-15, 2023.Beyond the Basics: Advancing Human Trafficking Investigations and Prosecutions Cincinnati, Ohio. This is a FREE, in-person, 2.5-day advanced human trafficking training for law enforcement and prosecutors to provide innovative, practical and trauma-informed strategies to enhance victim-centered responses and offender-focused investigations and prosecutions. This course is highly interactive and scenario-based. Register here.
February 27. England and Wales Ban Child Marriage. The legal age of marriage has been raised to 18, meaning 16 and 17-year-olds can no longer get married or have a civil partnership even if their parents give consent. Where’s the United States? 43 out of our 50 states still allow child marriage. SHOCKING Urge your representatives to end this harmful practice in the United States immediately. Learn more. Take action in the United States ⇨Global Hope 365
At the same time, the study shows that children aren’t turning to offline support systems – like having conversations with parents and trusted adults. Visit Thorn for Parents and always Lynn's Warriors to learn more.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT SEXTORTION IS? The practice of extorting money or sexual favors from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activities.
We can't do this alone. We need everyone.
Have a Family Safety Emergency Plan in Place. “Children who become separated from their loved ones during and following a disaster are at an increased risk of trauma. Coping with anxiety and stress are much more difficult in the absence of those who know the child’s individual needs. Children separated from their parents or legal guardians are more vulnerable to maltreatment, abuse, abduction, and sexual exploitation.” –NCMEC
If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or dial 911 in case of emergency. And 988 is now designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
ENGAGE EDUCATE EMPOWER
MARCH RECOMMENDED READING
A great book to share with your teens. Is social media stressing them out? Written by a millennial psychologist and media expert, this workbook offers practical skills to help them reduce anxiety, balance screen time, deal with cyberbullies, and take charge of their life.
Social media has drastically changed how we communicate with one another. In many ways this is a good thing. For example, it’s easier than ever to stay connected to family and friends who live far away. But social media can also become addictive, stressful, and even alienating. If you’re like many teens, you probably check your smartphone several times throughout the day to stay up to date on the news from friends. But what happens when you’re so worried about missing the latest posts on your feed that you end up missing out on real life adventures and connections?
The number of young kids who atemarijuana-laced candyrose sharply over five years, putting many in hospital, according to the latest study warning against America's experiment with legal pot.
Between 2017 and 2021, US poison control centers witnessed a 14-fold increase in calls about youngsters who got their hands on cannabis edibles, according to astudy in the journal Pediatrics.
Though many of the children experienced only minor symptoms, like excessive sleepiness, researchers say nearly a quarter ended up in hospital and warn about the emergence of a new household safety hazard.
JUST RELEASED.Eyes on the Future: Survivor-Partnered Research in the National Survivor StudyLearning from Survivors and With Survivors The study is the largest and most significant effort to date to learn directly from survivors of sex and labor trafficking about what they have experienced and what they need to heal. Survivors themselves designed and implemented the survey as full partners in the project. The result is anti-trafficking research that focuses on survivors’ futures as much as their past and reveals concrete pathways for action.
FEDERAL CALL TO ACTION 2023 — Three Kids' Internet Safety Bills You Need to Know Watch and listen to advocate Jan Edwards, Paving the Way Foundation, and tech policy expert Rick Lane, IGGY Ventures, and Lynn Shaw discuss why we must all engage, educate and empower ourselves and our children about today’s dangerous digital landscape, enforce privacy settings and why we must urge Congress to pass these three bills immediately. The best solutions right now to #ProtectKidsOnline
Have You Seen These Children?
WE NEED YOUR HELP! 17 year-old Nevaeh Whitted was last seen on December 29, 2022 in Fayetteville NC. Anyone having information is urged to the contact the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office (NC) at 1-910-323-1500 or call 1-800-THE-LOST.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! 15 year-old Nathan Barlow was last seen on February 4, 2022 in Cedar City UT. Anyone having information is urged to the contact the Cedar City Police Department (UT) at 1-432-586-2955 or call 1-800-THE-LOST.
Today and every day. Have a Warriors action plan in place. Stay connected with family and friends. Even if they seem okay. Keep handy these helpful phone numbers and websites of organizations available 24/7 365 days a year that offer free and confidential help.
Take Action. Warrior Workshops emphasize that communication is key and supplies the tools and resources to accomplish this.Lynn’s Warriorseducates children, teens, parents, teachers, trusted adults, healthcare professionals, law enforcement, community leaders and businesses and places of worship about the escalating impact of the Internet and protection from predators lurking online and in real time. Lynn’s Warriors focuses on and offers education and training about human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The emphasis and challenges are for everyone to become a Warrior in their own homes and communities. Lynn’s Warriorsare essential, critical and now available to you and your community. Here we come, NY, CT, NJ and the entire United States! Stay tuned. Please learn more
Lynn’s Warriorsis at the forefront of raising awareness and mobilizing and coordinating community, state and national advocates, elected officials, representatives and leaders to work in a comprehensive and integrated approach to best address the issues and work at ending the demand that confronts our most vulnerable and precious citizens.Lynn’s Warriorsutilizes a coordinated synergy to educate about all forms of digital predation, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), sextortion and all forms of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Learn more about becoming a Warrior and why Warrior Workshops are needed in your community. For more information Email Lynn.
Please use these helpful hashtags on your social media platforms to raise awareness about human trafficking and sexual exploitation issues and initiatives:
School Safety Officer Dave Gomez joined uson February 25, 2023, to discuss everything about kids, what's happening in schools today, online and in realtime plus advice and easy tips for parents and caregivers on how to handle various issues and concerns.
03-01-2023 welcomes Nashville Warrior Kristin Benton. WARNING Sexual abuse and rape survivor, brave advocate, Mom and board member of Freedom Forever, Kristin shares her very personal story and non-stop advocacy work in the hope of inspiring others to step up and protect children online and in real time. Don’t forget to listen to our 02-22-2023 interviews. First up is legal and media analyst LIONEL. He discusses the Supreme Court case Gonzalez v. Google and if this will this change anything regarding Section 230/Big Tech immunity? Plus our favorite doctor is in the house. Dr. Marc Siegel joins us to discuss EVERYTHING we need to be on the lookout for affecting kids. Fentanyl, vaping, education, mental health, parenting, East Palestine air quality and more. Two must-listens.Buckle up!Only onLynn’s Warriors WVOX Radio.Join us every Wednesday from 3-4PM ETAM1460NY WVOX App WVOX.com = Across the Universe!
SHOP THE WARRIORS: SUPPORT SURVIVORS
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Please review ourOfficial Lynn's Warriors merchandisesite with proceeds going to help human trafficking victims and survivors reclaim their lives through economic empowerment. And don't forget to listen toLynn's Warriors on WVOXWednesdays at 3PM ET and always followLynn’s Warriorsfor current news and updates about our mission to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Please tune in to the Lynn's Warriors YouTube Channeland subscribe.
HELP FUND THE FIGHT AND KEEP THE SURVIVOR VOICE FRONT AND CENTER. Your Lynn’s Warriors donationsupports the mission of stopping human trafficking and promoting sexual exploitation education as well as helping survivors reclaim their lives through purpose and providing financial support.
Please share this newsletter with family and friends.
"If we are open, connected and our intention is pure, we will always be protected by love and in service be better to others and never be harmed.” — Lynn Shaw
Lynn Shaw – "Prostitution is not a job. And it never will be. Sex is not work. It’s exploitation. Talk to survivors."
Thank you.
Lynn Shaw
Founder and Executive Director New York City Lynn’s Warriors
The time is now. Healing. We must protect our vulnerable children. We can do this. We must do this. We are #Warriors
Justice. 
vulnerable and precious citizens.
to listen to
